AustLit

'This essay examines books for children focusing on Ned Kelly and the Kelly gang, published from 2000 to 2011. Drawing upon theories of narrative, memory and nostalgia it analyses the narrative strategies and visual images through which these texts position readers, and their investment in formulations of the Australian nation. The essay argues that these books function as exercises in restorative nostalgia, producing palatable versions of Kelly as an Australian hero, and articulating connections between the Kelly legend and Australian national identity. By foregrounding Kelly's Irishness and by representing him as a "good badman", these Ned Kelly narratives for children, which range across fiction, non-fiction, picture book and play script, reinscribe versions of national identity which occlude more complicated narratives. In particular, their emphasis on struggles between Irish and English settlers, and between selectors and squatters, displaces Indigenous histories, colonial violence, and systemic discrimination against those deemed outsiders to the nation.' (Editor's abstract)

'Alan Marshall's work has either been neglected or has been discussed in the context of its contribution to the Australian identity or as an example of Australian autobiography. This essay examines his early novel and his three directly autobiographical works to argue that he uses his studies of popular Australian values to develop a basis for an inclusive Australian democracy. The argument of the essay is that the socialist realist doctrines of the Realist Writers Group and his bush background influence his choice of voice and form, but that the politics of his work has been overlooked. This, as well as his reputation as a popular author, accounts for the unjust critical neglect of his work.' (Publisher's abstract)